A Year of Reading: February 2011
1. A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary by Alain de Botton
3 stars on Goodreads
A quick read, and interesting, with some lovely turns of phrase, but there was not ENOUGH, if that makes sense. I found myself wanting more information, more detail, more stories. I particularly liked the story of 'David' and his family and the comment about looking at pictures of lovely destinations leading us to believe that happiness will be found there, even though the people on the vacation and the dynamics remain the same as they do at home.
2. Silver Dagger by David French (play)
4 stars on Goodreads
I saw this play in the early 1990s when it played in Toronto. A crime novelist, his wife, his lover, her sister, and a mechanic-turned-sidekick - who's guilty and of what? This is a play in which the characters cross and double-cross each other at every opportunity. Great stuff. I liked all the Toronto references.
3. The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel - Earth's Children Book 4 (reread)
3 stars on Goodreads
I still like this "travel" book; coming into contact with different group livens things up a bit. (But man is it tiring that Ayla and Jondalar are always so perfect at everything.) Occasionally I wonder at the distances travelled - I have to plug things into google maps or similar to get an idea of how far it is - let's guess 3000km - the equivalent of me walking from Toronto to Salt Lake City, Utah.
4. The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
4 stars on Goodreads
I found this book both interesting and entertaining. Stephen Fry seems, at least, to be brutally honest about himself and his life, ambitions, faults, and self image, and it's refreshing to a point. (It's also depressing to think that someone as accomplished as he is doesn't think he's all that laudable.) Where I ran into difficulties was in the discussions and descriptions of famous people and BBC radio and television shows that just aren't a part of my Canadian-raised lexicon. He left this book on a real cliff-hanger (sort of, since he is a public figure and all, we do mostly know What Happened Next) but I look forward to reading about it from his perspective.
5. The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
2 stars on Goodreads
I wanted to like this more than I did, sadly. I never really got into any of the characters or their stories.
6. The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel - Earth's Children Book 5 (reread)
2 stars on Goodreads
Rereading February 2011 in anticipation of the last book in the series coming out this spring.
This book does not need to be 800+ pages long! If only Auel didn't have Ayla tell and re-tell the same stories every time she meets a new character - stories that readers of the series have already "seen" happen and heard retold in the previous book - it would be much more bearable. How many pages do you think got used up by characters formally introducing themselves with all their ties and affiliations? How many times do we have to hear Ayla explain about being raised by the Clan, how she found Whinney, Wolf, etc.? And is anyone else getting tired of Ayla and Jondalar being so perfect, high-status, and right about everything? And have all their foes be crazy-jealous and/or drunks?
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2 stars on Goodreads
** spoiler alert **
We just watched the movie this week, now I am skimming - not really reading - the book to see how they compare.
I don't really think it's fair to say I read this - I really did skim it in a couple of hours to see how it compared to the movie. (I think the movie was tighter, and less rambling in its tangents e.g. the Wennerstrom plotline.) The graphic sexual violence seemed unnecessary to me - Lisbeth was clear as a character beforehand, I don't think a brutal rape was necessary to show me her character. And to quote Zoje George's review, I agree that the "bad guys [...] are over the top bad (oh no, it's not good enough to have them be serial killers, but incestuous, abusive, multi-generational, religiously fanatical, ^Nazi^ serial killers!). I don't want to read any more of the series, but I might watch the other movies.
8. Cordelia's Honor (Vorkosigan Saga omnibus 1; books 1-2) by Lois McMaster Bujold by
1 star on Goodreads
After 100 pages, I was really not enjoying this. So many people love this series, but I was not drawn into or enjoying the story at all. I gave up on this read when I couldn't bring myself to pick it up again.
9. The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs
4 stars on Goodreads
This is a collection of articles, each devoted to a shorter-term "experiment" in his own life. These include:
-outsourcing his life to two firms in India (he has reps who take care of his schedule, answered his email, do research, and more);
-Radical Honesty (no filter between brain and mouth);
-he acts for his nanny (a beautiful woman) on online dating services;
-he tries to follow George Washington's 101 Rules of Conduct.
Honestly, I wanted longer pieces or even full-length books on many of the topics he covered. (And I wanted more detail about the outsourcing - it didn't seem to me that it would lessen your workload since you'd still have to explain all the tasks, but it seemed to work for him.) Easy to read, interesting, and fun. (But I really like those "do something for X amount of time" stories.
10. Weddings for Grownups: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Your Wedding Your Way by Carroll Stoner
stars on Goodreads
This book is aimed at "mature brides" - apparently this means over the age of 26 - and the message of this book is "it's OK to do what you want". A gift from bruiseblue. We got some interesting ideas from this but to be honest it is a little outdated in terms of research and communication. (It's pre-internet, and it shows: one suggestion is to hire a secretary from an agency to compile our wedding guest list from our Rolodex. NO REALLY.)
11. Serenity: Those Left Behind (volume 1) by
3 stars on Goodreads
This series is trying to be a filler between the end of the series and the film. This was like an episode of Firefly, which of course I enjoyed, though not the greatest episode or anything like that. The foreword by Nathan Filion was great.
12. Serenity: Better Days (volume 2) by
3 stars on Goodreads
Another episode of Firefly set between the end of the show and the movie, this one had some hilarious fantasy sequences (what would we do if we were rich?) which made me laugh.
13. Stylish weddings for less : how to plan your dream wedding on a budget by
stars on Goodreads
We got some interesting ideas from this book, it was nicely organized and had lots of pretty pictures. All American-based, though, and their "budget" weddings were all over $15,000.
14. Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year by Esmé Raji Codell (reread)
4 stars on Goodreads
June 2007: 4 stars. Reread February 2011: 4 stars. This book makes me want to become a teacher like Madame Esme, or a school administrator so I can be supportive of teachers like Madame Esme. (This book also fills me with rage at the failure of schools/administrators to do that.)
15. 1,001 ways to save money - and still have a dazzling wedding by Sharon Naylor
2 stars on Goodreads
I didn't really learn much from this that I didn't already know. (Use in-season flowers instead of insisting on lilac blossoms in September! Don't buy shoes at the bridal shop, they're cheaper at - gasp - the regular shoe store! Get things in writing from service personnel!)
And apparently chocolate fountains are passe? But she recommends buying a cheapie garter for the all-important garter toss - because you will want to keep and forever cherish the actual garter. (With a proviso that the garter-toss is also passe.)
16. Bonk: the curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach
4 stars on Goodreads (3.5 if I could)
The history of sexual research is not neat and tidy - nor could/should it be. This book examines and describes studies on sex that were done in the name of science. (I could not imagine participating in these studies - masturbating with a speculum in? Aieeeeeee.) Mary Roach makes science very accessible and fun.
Next up:
-The elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
-The perfect mile : three athletes, one goal, and less than four minutes to achieve it by Neal Bascomb
What are you reading lately? What do you recommend? Are you on GoodReads? If so, please feel free to add me there!